On Mount Hood — The paperback
I got a box in the mail today with something inside that reminded me I should probably start spreading the word about an upcoming event at Powell’s on April 24.
The paperback version of On Mount Hood officially comes out the day before the event at Powell’s. More info on that event to come soon. In the meantime, though, I thought I’d share the paperback image as a little peek at the next chapter of On Mount Hood.
Nice surprise
It doesn’t happen all that often, but every now and then we’ll stumble across a copy of the Mount Hood book in an unexpected place. The Zigzag Ranger Station, the museum in Government Camp, even New Seasons.
Today it happened while hiking around and learning about owls at the Owl Fest at Tryon Creek State Park. There in the gift shop, we came across a lone copy on the top shelf. A nice surprise, indeed.
On Mount Hood in Sandy — Feb. 24
An upcoming event at Lori Ryland’s art studio in Sandy, Or., with some other great writers, filmmakers, artists, and creative folks.
A Mount Hood viewpoint
They’re everywhere, really. Flying into Portland, driving up I-5, from the chicane at Portland International Raceway or the tram at OHSU, out in Hood River, from the top of Mount Adams or halfway up Hood itself. The list of incredible views of Mount Hood is seemingly endless.
There’s one that I came across recently, though, that I’d long seen in photographs but never taken in myself over my 15-plus years as an Oregonian. I don’t know how many people know about it, even though it’s actually a formal, designated viewpoint. There are no signs for it as you pass through the town of Sandy on your way to or from the mountain, but the name of the road it’s on — Bluff Drive — hints at something.
It’s called the Jonsrud Viewpoint — named for a local family who helped establish it — and to get there, you head north on Bluff Road off of Highway 26 in Sandy for just a few minutes. It’s on the right, but don’t worry. You can’t miss it.
Photo courtesy of the Sandy Historical Society.
Brave on the Page: A Recap of the Powell’s Debut
Last night’s “Brave on the Page” event at Powell’s Books came off famously thanks in no small part to editor Laura Stanfill and everyone else who helped out.
In addition to several readings from the book, the event featured a panel with myself a few other writers, including Scott Sparling, Yuvi Zalkow, and Kristy Athens, to talk about the creative process and how we research and incorporate our own experiences in our writing. For me, that meant sharing a bit about climbing Mount Hood, researching the mountain’s history, and sitting down for tea with environmental activist Tre Arrow.
Here’s a snippet of Laura’s recap:
A new writer friend, Marcia Riefer Johnston, asked if I was floating after last night’s reading at Powell’s.
Absolutely.
We had an overflow crowd of 150, according to Powell’s staff estimates. We ran out of chairs, so some people sat in between bookshelves or stood around the edges of the gathering. There were people I know, writers and friends and even a row of my neighbors! Tom Spanbauer, a literary god here in Portland for his own work and how he cultivates talent in the writers he teaches, attended our event. There were friends of friends and writers who have studied with writers I have studied with.
But most amazingly, there were writers who came to be inspired, to ask questions about writing what we know (or not) and how we feel about writing groups. There were so many faces in the audience that I didn’t know, and it was so special to share Brave on the Page with them through readings by Kate Gray, Gina Ochsner, Gigi Little, Robert Hill and me. And to share the sense of writerly community and camaraderie through the panel discussion moderated by Joanna Rose and featuring Yuvi Zalkow, Scott Sparling, Jon Bell and Kristy Athens.
Brave on the Page at Powell’s, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7
A homegrown writing reference book, Brave on the Page: Oregon Writers on Craft and the Creative Life (Forest Avenue Press) is a multi-voiced collection of ruminations about authors’ habits, frustrations, and successes. Above all, it’s a celebration of what it means to be a writer in Oregon. Brave on the Page, edited by Laura Stanfill, features work by 42 Oregon authors, including original interviews and flash essays.
Joining Stanfill for this reading and panel discussion will be contributors Kristy Athens, Jon Bell, Kate Gray, Robert Hill, Gigi Little, Gina Ochsner, Joanna Rose, Scott Sparling, and Yuvi Zalkow.
Find out more here.
On MOUNT HOOD 